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I think there is something really great happening in the world and in Christianity, and
I have been doing a lot of thinking about this Emergentesque stuff, I don’t know what to call it (because Emerging church and Emergent are both current incarnation of a greater happening) So I wish there were a positive term we could use for what is happening, so until we have one I will call it “PT”.

Any way, I have been doing much pondering about PT and have come the conclusion that for this to really take hold, as I think it should, and probably will, it is going to mean doing some of the hard work that frankly to this point many of us have resisted doing. Part of the resistance has been principled – we have concluded that it is too early to put too many things in place too firmly, but at other time the hesitation has not had such honorable motives. I think we, I, have been unwilling to work hard at being clear or to slow to put form around ideas and to make the expressions of PT accessible.

But for PT to have lasting impact and to not be simply “an insignificant astrik on the church growth movement”, as has been suggested, we need to do all the work.

I am but a novice historian on the Evangelical movement of the 20th century, so I am willing to be corrected and refined on this, but it seems to me that there are many things we could learn from the history of the Evangelicals from 1930 – 1980 and how this fringe view served the broader church (look I am as much a skeptic of the movement at anyone, but it certainly did many good things, and many more good things than harmful things) and allowed the Evangelical form of Christianity to be accessible to many people (critiques of that message noted, but it did make that version accessible).

I am trying to do a bit of study to learn more about what really happened in the early years, especially 1930-1960, but during that time many colleges, publishers, para-church organizations, magazines and the like were established (think about most of the Evangleical organizations you know, and I bet most were started in the last 70 years) and I think we could stand to learn a few things from their ways. I do not want all the outcomes of that movement that is for sure, but I think that there are certain things that must be done in order for people to continue to gather together and make collective life with God around these PT happenings.

I think part of what we need to do include:

• We need to create well-thought through expressions of PT life in all areas of the church. This will mean working with all areas of the church, much more than just worship gathering issues. Especially in the areas of structure. We need to be structured in ways that lead to the outcomes we hope for. We need theological and practitioner expressions.
• We need to work on training people. We need to find ways to share knowledge and experience with one another that moves beyond one on one conversations.
• We need expressions of PT life in all areas of the church. Think of evangelicalism from 1930 -180 without camps, schools, churches, radio, publishing, it simply wouldn’t have happened.
• We need multiple expressions. This is one of the reasons why any one organization cannot be the center of PT life. There needs to be multiple expressions. We need to be able to express our differences without separating.
• We need and “Enemy”. I know this counter to our generative spirit, but all expressions need to be able to share not only what they want to see happen, but what they hope happens less. Let me suggest a few enemies: global poverty, abuse of children and women, dominance of under class, physical habits that are detrimental to future generations, governmental systems that oppress the weak for the sake of the few, slave trafficking. It seems to me that we can say that we are for all the efforts that are extending God’s agenda in the world and be against all the things that compete with God’s agenda. This one will certainly require careful consideration, but it is a must, in my opinion.
• We need to have multiple versions of explaining God’s agenda for the world. One of the benefits of evangelicalism was that it made it possible to talk about God’s plan without having to have a 20 minute conversation (now I suspect this was more difficult in the early days) with the emphasis on personal connection with God and all. I think that whenever using the short version we need to be able to say that is what it is, much like a trailer for a movie, or a picture of our family, we know there is more to it, but it a compelling way to start.

• I am sure there are other things we will need to do, like think about a means of engaging with politics and global justice issues (a conversation does not go very far to stop global injustice) and I know it will take much to accomplish any one, let alone all, of these things.

But if this is what we feel God is calling us to then let’s get to it.

...an offense. After reading some of the suggestions that Emergent is an offense to gospel, I think I am glad to be an offense to that version of the gospel. Maybe the Easter season allows us to be confident that God is at work among those who are considered to be a threat and offense to some people's version of the gospel.

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like what Peter was told when he had the gaul to meet in the home of a Gentile.

I was at a lunch with some folks from the Twin Cities Emergent Cohort today and an expression was used about Jesus that I think fits this pretty well - Jesus was lynched. The idea of Jesus be the innocent victim, while in the eyes of his detractors he was an offense.

It just seems like I've had a great stretch of Emergent-type things happening to me lately. If this list can be seen in any way to be a sign that Emergent is gaining some traction and becoming a blessing to the church, then praise God. If not, at least there are a bunch of links here for you to check out.

- Sitting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art a month ago, I met a great guy named Jeff Kursonis. He was reading an eYS book, and we struck up a great conversation (I blogged about it here). Well, Jeff is now officially starting a community of faith for artists in NYC, and he is blogging here.

- We had an excellent cohort meeting in Minnesota a few weeks ago. Mark Stenberg of House of Mercy gave a presentation on the Radical Orthodoxy movement, followed by a great discussion.

- Speaking of cohorts, I'm privileged to be a part of two. The other one is the Central Jersey Cohort, and it is fantastic. We met last week, and were blessed to have a few Princeton Seminary profs and the President, Iain Torrance, join us. The mix of pastors, church planters, seminary students, and PhD students (with the occasional professor) always makes for great conversation.

- I went to a beautiful worship service at Princeton Seminary last week. It's called ".bE," and it's coordinated by Adam Cleaveland. It was really great to see 120 PTS students and faculty -- not necessarily known for innovative worship -- really engaging some 'fresh expression' worship.

- Good Friday found Julie and me at our home church, Solomon's Porch, engaging with incredible artistic reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ.

- I just finished the manuscript of a book critical of Emergent, particularly of books by Brian McLaren, Brad Kallenberg, Stan Grenz and John Franke, and me. And, no, it's not the book you're thinking of. The good news is that this book is respectful, gracious, and fair. The criticisms are strong, and I disagree with many of them, but this book will set the standard of how to criticize Emergent with respect.

- A leading emerging church that we all want to succeed for years to come just received a generous three-year grant from a mainline benefactor.

I could go on about conference calls with publishers who desire to work with Emergent, about future events that we're planning, and about the constant emails we get from people who are striking out in faith to start new communities of faith and to revitalize existing communities. All in all, we can thank God for what momentum we have, and we can ask God to guide us into our future.

So I've been looking around the blogosphere at some of the criticism that is coming our way. Many people have noted that at least one critical book will be out any day. In the wake of Stan Grenz's untimely death, there's been some tasteless criticism, too, and his death has renewed interest in the ____ing the Center books that were written by and against him.

But as I've read the criticism, listened to the radio programs, and anticipated the forthcoming books, something has occurred to me: the criticism is not coming from evangelicals. It's not coming from evangelical charismatics or evangelical Wesleyans or evangelical anabaptists or evangelical mainliners or evangelical Catholics. The criticism is coming from evangelical Calvinists.

In fact, let me be even more specific. In the Reformed tradition, there are lots of evangelical Barthians, and the criticism is not coming from them. The criticism is coming from pre-Barthian evangelical Calvinists.

I wonder why this is. I mean, I have my ideas, and they have to do with things like foundational epistemologies and the negation of tradition and experience (all of which, by the way, is a great betrayal of the heart of Calvinism). But maybe you have ideas about this. Let me know. Or let me know if you think the criticism is more broadly based than what I'm seeing.

Many attending the WALP Conference next month have been asking how to connect. Where to find information about rides, places to stay, etc. We have set up a separate blog page just for that. It is called, appropriately, WALP Connect. Why be imaginative when the basic works so well?

If you are going to WALP and need to connect that page will help you do so. If you keep hearing us say "WALP" and have no idea what that is but would like to know, click here for more information.

If you have friends that you think would like to participate, please spread the word!

If you'd like to see what Brian McLaren has to say about this gathering, read on...

Dear Friends -

Of all the important and exciting things the emergent community has been doing - throwing large events, sponsoring informal gatherings, encouraging the development of new books, hosting theological conversations - one of the best, in my opinion, has been the way diverse people are brought together to share ideas and build friendships.

That's what will be happening in just a few short weeks at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky when we gather for the first "Worship, Art, Liturgy, and Preaching Conference," April 18-21, 2005.

The speakers will be excellent. The workshops will be tremendous.

The creative activities (this isn't just a "come and listen" event - it's a "let's practice together and try some things" event) will be exciting. The company will be unprecedented - bringing together Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, Anabaptist, and other voices.

Most important - the potential impact of the event will be far-reaching, both because of the inspiration and new ideas shared, but perhaps even more, because of the lasting relationships and conversations that will begin those days.

Stan Grenz has been a mentor and friend to me and to many of my closest friends for several years. It is with poignant gratitude for the privilege of knowing him - mixed with profound sadness and heartbreak at his untimely passing - that I wish to offer these few reflections.

I originally met Stan through his books. In particular, A Primer on Postmodernism, Theology for the Community of God, Renewing the Center, and Beyond Foundationalism (co-written with John Franke) enriched and instructed me – both through their thoughtful reflection on Bible, history, and contemporary culture and through their generous, winsome style. I heard him speak a few times back in the 90’s, briefly meeting him and becoming acquainted, before getting to know him better when we were invited on several occasions to teach together at conferences or events.

At one event several years back, Stan, my friend Robert Kang, and I snuck away for the afternoon. We drove high up into the mountains east of LA, enjoying the magnificent scenery and talking theology – two endeavors that belong together. That afternoon I learned more of Stan’s story, and of his heart. Whenever we met after that, it was as friends.

One of the exciting aspects of the Emergent conversation is Cohorts. Maybe you are not part of a cohort and would like to be. Perhaps you do not even know what a cohort is but would like to know how to become more deeply involved in the conversation. It could be that you are already a part of a cohort and just want to see what everyone else is doing.